Floral Valentine’s Day Meringues
10th February 2015
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s time for some inspiration for sweet treats to create this weekend.
Whip up my floral Valentine’s Day meringues in no time at all. Smothered in delicious fruit-flavoured whipped cream and topped with delicate pink hydrangea flowers and elegant gold leaves, they are the perfect treat for a special day. Create the meringues in minutes by following these eight easy steps.
The recipe can easily be tweaked depending on how many meringues you are serving.
Step 1
Gather the following tools and ingredients:
Tools
Set of two hydrangea cutters and veiners (I used Sunflower Sugar Art’s)
Set of two primrose leaf cutters and veiners (I used A Piece of Cake’s)
Former for hydrangea flower centre (or roll balls by hand)
Paint brush
Rolling pin
Tweezers
Ingredients
6 x Meringues
300ml Double cream
2 x Tablespoons fruit jam of choice
Natural pink food colouring
Pink coloured sugarpaste
Autumn Leaf coloured sugarpaste
Edible gold dust & clear spirit to mix (I used Sugarflair’s Lustre Powder in Royal Gold)
Edible glue
Step 2
Roll out the Autumn Leaf coloured sugarpaste and cut out and vein two to three leaves per meringue using the leaf cutter and veiner. I created a mixture of the two sizes of leaves, but this isn’t essential. Leave to dry until sufficiently hardened.
Step 3
Roll out the Pink coloured sugarpaste and cut out and vein three hydrangeas per meringue, using the hydrangea cutter and veiner. Leave to dry until sufficiently hardened.
Step 4
Create the flower centres using the Pink sugarpaste and the former, or roll four small balls per flower. Mix the edible gold dust with a few drops of clear spirit until you have a paint-like consistency. Cover the flower centres with the gold dust mixture and leave to dry.
Step 5
Cover the leaves with the gold dust mixture and leave to try.
Step 6
Once the gold flower centres are dry, apply edible glue to the middle of each hydrangea and use a pair of tweezers to carefully place the gold flower centres in to the hydrangeas.
Step 7
Whip the double cream with your fruit jam of choice and a couple of drops of natural pink food colouring until thick. The cream’s subtle pink tinge will compliment the hydrangeas. Top the meringues with plenty of cream…don’t hold back!
Step 8
Using tweezers, roughly arrange three flowers and two to three leaves per meringue for a decadent and rustic look. Add the finishing touch by gently applying edible gold dust to the meringues using a paintbrush. Arrange your finished floral meringues on a platter and then it’s time for the most important part…tuck in!
Kitchen notes
You can prepare the flowers and leaves beforehand but assemble the meringues a maximum of one hour before serving so that your lovely hydrangeas and leaves remain intact (they start to dissolve in the cream) and the meringues stay nice and crunchy!
